Run into Trouble Page 24

  As they walked uphill alongside the building, Melody lagged behind, trying to be inconspicuous. The captain didn’t pay any attention to her. They rounded the corner; Casey had already unlocked the door to the training room and was leading the officers inside. Drake and the captain followed them. Melody stayed outside in the dark, against the wall, projecting her head past the door frame only far enough so that she could see Casey.

  Casey had his back to her and was declaiming about the facility—pretending to tell how the training took place. He sounded believable, but then he always sounded believable. So far he had managed to keep everybody away from the bookcase containing the Russian manuals. But the men were starting to wander around on their own. It was just a matter of time…

  Casey beckoned to the Chairman, indicating that he wanted to show him something. Melody saw him pull the gun, but it happened so fast there was nothing she could do. She was too far away. He put the gun to the head of the Chairman and told him not to move.

  “Gentlemen, your attention please. I am holding a gun on the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Captain, kindly drop your gun belt to the floor and kick it away from you.”

  The captain looked stunned and did as he was told.

  “Thank you. And thanks to the meddling of people like Drake, it appears that we can no longer work together. Fortunately, I am prepared for this contingency. Giganticorp has recently purchased a corporate jet, which is at this moment fueled and waiting at the San Jose Airport with a pilot standing by. I am a planner by nature, and I tried to plan for everything.”

  The other officers looked as stunned as the captain. Melody couldn’t see the Chairman’s face, but this probably wasn’t his finest hour. He and Casey had their backs to the door. Drake spotted her, and his expression was calculating, but, handcuffed as he was, there wasn’t a lot he could do. Melody was in the best position to attempt something, but she had to be careful not to get the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs killed. Casey spoke again.

  “This is how it’s going to play out. Drake’s handcuffs are the ones used by my guards. Fortunately, I have a key to them.” He reached into a pocket with his free hand and extracted it. “Colonel Kilgore,” he indicated the smallest officer in the room, “you are going to take the handcuffs off Drake and put them on the Chairman. If anybody tries anything, the Chairman dies.”

  As this procedure was carried out, Casey explained that he was going to drive the Chairman to the airport. The plane was in a private area, and Casey could drive directly to it. The Chairman would be his passenger on the flight, which was to an unnamed country. If any planes were sent in pursuit of them, the Chairman would die. If they arrived safely, the Chairman would be sent back to the U.S.

  The Chairman finally found his voice. “Don’t worry about me, boys. Just get Casey.”

  Casey jabbed the gun against his head, making him wince. Of course the others wouldn’t do anything to endanger his life. Casey had picked the correct hostage. Melody looked at Drake who now had his hands free. But what could he do? As Casey prepared to leave with the Chairman, he had everybody stand well away from the door and told them not to follow—or else. He had apparently forgotten about her. She was counting on it.

  Melody made a gesture for Drake, indicating that she was going to try something. He gave an almost imperceptible nod and nudged the captain who was standing beside him. The captain saw Melody.

  One of the officers spoke. “We’ll make a deal with you, Casey. Just let the Chairman go.”

  Casey shook his head. “No deals.”

  As he and the Chairman turned around, Melody jerked her head back out of the doorway. Her muscles tensed. What if her actions got the Chairman killed? The Free World would stagger if this happened. But it would be worse if Casey managed to take him out of the country. In addition to the resulting international humiliation, perhaps Casey would decide not to let him return.

  Melody counted the footsteps of the Chairman and Casey as they marched toward the door. They sounded loud on the wooden floor. She tensed her muscles even more. She would have only one chance. The Chairman came through the doorway first, followed by the gun to his head. Melody lunged, her timing almost perfect.

  “Go,” she shouted at the Chairman as she shoved the gun away from his head.

  She tried to grab the gun out of Casey’s hand but failed. His first shot went wild. He shook her loose, and she thought he was going to shoot her, but he had a bigger problem. Drake and the captain had moved when she did and were almost at the doorway. Casey heard the noise of their footsteps and swung around to face them.

  His second shot hit the captain who was leading. He didn’t get a chance to fire a third shot. Drake’s momentum pushed the captain into Casey, and then Drake hit Casey like a Muhammad Ali punch, blasting him onto his back. Casey emitted a solid “ooof” as the wind was knocked out of him. Melody grabbed the gun from Casey’s hand and pointed it at his head.

  Drake sat astride him and spoke grimly. “Artie’s not the only one who played football.”

  CHAPTER 39

  Today’s run ends the race. It goes from Thornton State Beach through San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge to the vista point at the north end. Follow Route 35 (Skyline Drive) into San Francisco County. Turn left on Great Highway and follow the coast past the Cliff House. You can improvise going through Lincoln Park (chance for some place changes here). You can take El Camino del Mar out of the park. Follow Lincoln Boulevard to approach the bridge. As you get close to the bridge, you can take Merchant Road to gain access to the bridge. Cross the bridge into Marin County. Enjoy yourselves. It’s been a great race.

  ***

  “It’s too bad you didn’t get a hug from your father.”

  They were running slowly, but they were running.

  “At least he shook my hand and said, ‘Good job.’ He did hug you. So did the Chairman.”

  “Your father said some nice things about you in front of the Chairman. How many fathers do that for their sons? He’ll make a good interim CEO for Giganticorp. I think they elected him because he’s the only honest man of the bunch.”

  “He’ll dispense with the mendacity, that’s for sure. I gather that he’s waiting for us at the end of the race, instead of Casey. That ought to get the media buzzing. He’s probably already congratulating Tom and Jerry, the big winners. It’s a nice gesture on his part, but I’d rather be met by dancing girls.”

  “What about dancing boys?”

  “Boys, too, just for you.”

  The board of directors of Giganticorp, having a quorum present, had convened a meeting after things had calmed down. They had transacted two pieces of business. They had ousted Casey Messinger as chief executive officer of Giganticorp and elected Justin Drake to serve in his place until a committee with Admiral Drake at its head could find a suitable person to take the position in a permanent capacity.

  Melody was still trying to absorb everything that had happened last night. “Casey showed a lot of hubris bringing the conspirators to the same building where he had trained the submariners. If Slick and I hadn’t found that room, somebody else might have.”

  “I guess he felt that once he was President, or Dictator, or whatever his title was going to be, that it wouldn’t matter anymore. He should be hanged as a traitor, but I doubt that’s going to happen. Since he was captured by the military, I suspect that his real plan will be hushed up. It would show too much government vulnerability, and too many other heads would roll along with his. The official reason for Casey leaving Giganticorp will be, ‘so he can spend more time with his family.’”

  “He’ll have to spend it on the private island he was about to fly to last night.”

  “He won’t be allowed to live in the U.S., that’s for sure.”

  “Do you think the president will replace the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs?”

  “Definitely. But that happens quite frequently and won’t raise many eyebrows. The generals and admirals present who ar
e still on active duty will no doubt be taking early retirement. No heroes will emerge from this, but Slick should get a footnote in history. Even Blade was upset about him. It can truly be said that he gave his life for his country. And for me.”

  “If the guard hadn’t made a lucky shot, Slick would still be alive…”

  Melody’s voice trailed off. She had to slow down even more because she was choking up. Their speed didn’t matter, anyway. They were firmly entrenched in last place for today’s run. She had found out one thing about Slick that she didn’t care to share with Drake—his beautiful blue eyes. She pulled herself away from the image of those eyes as he lay dying and tried to concentrate on what Drake was saying.

  “If you hadn’t moved in and taken out Artie, he would have shot me.”

  “If you hadn’t kicked his gun, he might have hit me. I thought he’d never go down.”

  Drake didn’t want to talk about that phase of the operation anymore. They both could have been killed.

  “You’re the real hero for stopping Casey when he was kidnapping the Chairman.”

  “Casey forgot about me. Since he discounted my ability when we toured the submarine, I figured he might. But you and the captain kept him from shooting me.”

  “I’m glad the captain will be okay. The bullet basically bounced off his ribs.”

  Drake wasn’t faking his limp. It was all he could do to keep running. “Sorry I’m such a mess today. My belly flop and the tackle by Artie ruined any chance we had at the million. Not to mention my tackle of Casey. My knees are killing me.”

  “My feet are sore from those damn shoes I was wearing. I keep telling myself that what we did was much more important than a million dollars.”

  “Thanks for trying to cheer me up. At least we’re sure to collect on the per diem. With my father in charge, all the obligations of Giganticorp will be paid in full.”

  “You can buy your cabin in Idyllwild.”

  “And get away from people like Casey. If they’re not going to hang him as a traitor, I hope the FBI nails his ass for Grace’s murder.”

  “The Chairman said he would push them to investigate it. At least they’ve got a smoking gun now—”

  “And a smoking executive assistant. I suspect that Ms. Melinda Gage knows secrets that would curl your hair.”

  “Thanks. I’m happy with my hair the way it is. But I’d like to see Casey put away in the U.S. equivalent of the Tower of London. Perhaps the Beefeaters would be willing to loan their guillotine to the Colonies to dispatch him. I’d volunteer to drop the blade on his neck.”

  “Speaking of Blade, he made a prediction. He predicted that Casey’s life expectancy on his island would be about six months. I didn’t ask any questions.”

  “That makes me feel a lot better.”

  “I never knew you were so bloodthirsty. You need a vacation.”

  In spite of his sadness about Slick and losing the chance at the big money and multiple aches from his fall, Drake suddenly felt good about the world. “It’s such a fantastic day. I’ve never seen a day like this in San Francisco. It’s a good omen.”

  They were running across the Golden Gate Bridge under a warm sun. The bright orange towers contrasted with the sparkling blue waters of the bay. It was a day in which anything was possible in a free country. Anything.

  Drake turned to Melody. “Now that we’ve helped to save the world, we both deserve a vacation. We’ve already seen the coast. How about we go off into the mountains together?”

  “‘Will you walk into my parlor?’ said the spider to the fly.”

  “Assuming that the mountains can be regarded as a parlor, I guess that’s an apt analogy. Will you?”

  “Anything’s possible.”

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  After spending more than a quarter of a century as a pioneer in the computer industry, Alan Cook is well into his second career as a writer.

  The Hayloft: a 1950s mystery and prize-winning Honeymoon for Three feature Gary Blanchard, first as a high school senior who has to solve the murder of his cousin, and ten years later as a bridegroom who gets more than he bargained for on his honeymoon.

  Hotline to Murder takes place at a crisis hotline in Bonita Beach, California. When a listener is murdered, Tony and Shahla team up to uncover the strange worlds of their callers and find the killer.

  His Lillian Morgan mysteries, Catch a Falling Knife and Thirteen Diamonds, explore the secrets of retirement communities. Lillian, a retired mathematics professor from North Carolina, is smart, opinionated, and loves to solve puzzles, even when they involve murder.

  Alan splits his time between writing and walking, another passion. His inspirational, prize-winning book, Walking the World: Memories and Adventures, has information and adventure in equal parts. He is also the author of Walking to Denver, a light-hearted, fictional account of a walk he did.

  Freedom’s Light: Quotations from History’s Champions of Freedom, contains quotations from some of our favorite historical figures about personal freedom. The Saga of Bill the Hermit is a narrative poem about a hermit who decides that the single life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

  Alan lives with his wife, Bonny, on a hill in Southern California. His website is alancook.50megs.com.

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  Run into Trouble